Growing More than Crops

Growing More Than Crops: How Education is Shaping Futures in Wilmar’s Oil Palm Plantations

Sustainability

Education is widely recognised as a fundamental human right — one that enables individuals to realise their potential and societies to progress.

Across Wilmar’s plantations in Malaysia and Indonesia, education has become a powerful force for transformation, unlocking opportunity for children of plantation workers and shaping futures that extend far beyond the estates where they grew up.

From plantations to Graduation

Tears welled in her eyes when Faisah, a long-serving loose palm fruit collector with Wilmar, saw her son, Erwin Suarno, in his graduation gown in 2024.

He had just earned a bachelor’s degree in physics from an Indonesian university — an achievement his parents once thought was beyond reach.

Faisah, 46, and her husband, Kaharuddin, 52, a mechanic, have worked in Wilmar’s plantation in Sarawak, Malaysia, for more than two decades.

Despite their status as migrant workers, the Community Learning Centre (CLC), established by Wilmar in the Saremas estate and recognised by the Indonesian consulate, welcomed their two children.

There, they received elementary education that paved the way to secondary and tertiary studies in Indonesia.

Last year, their daughter, Noorhafizah, graduated with a first-class bachelor’s degree in education from a private university in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

For Faisah and Kaharuddin, these milestones represent more than academic success — they signify possibilities. The proud parents believe their children now have the foundation for a future defined by choice rather than circumstance.

^{_{Erwin Suarno and Noorhafizah}}

In Sabah, Malaysia, similar stories of aspiration and perseverance unfold.

The parents of Nurlatifa and Emilisa Ponda recall the pride they felt when their daughters secured presidential scholarships to pursue their bachelor’s degrees in Indonesia.

Nurlatifa, now 21, is studying fine arts at a state university in Makassar and is on track to graduate with distinction this year. An alumna of the Humana school in Segama estate and the CLC in Sabahmas plantation, her artistic talent flourished in an environment that nurtured learning beyond the classroom.

Her parents, Murni Ali, 51, and Yodi Karim, 48, joined Wilmar in 2008. Murni has worked as a manurer for 18 years while Yodi was a mandor, or foreman, until health issues forced his retirement. They remain deeply grateful for the education, school uniforms, transport and learning support provided to their children.

They see tertiary education as a pathway to upward socio-economic mobility and an example for Nurlatifa’s younger brother to follow.

Emilisa, now 23, was Nurlatifa’s senior in the CLC in Sabahmas. She had secured a government scholarship to read theology in the State Christian Institute of Toraja, Indonesia, and graduated last year. Her younger brother, Ronald, who also attended Humana school and CLC, is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in mathematics at a public university in Jawa.

For their parents, Thomas Boli, 46, and Maria Sesa, 47 — who have worked as a welder and a helper for about 25 years — witnessing their children pursue their dream course in universities represents the fulfilment of long-held hopes.

Nurlatifa, Emilisa and Ronald have all benefited from a conducive learning environment that allowed their individual potential to blossom.

In Sabah, Humana schools — run jointly by Wilmar and the Borneo Child Aid Society — provide primary education for children of migrant workers in plantations. Their secondary education continues in CLCs, overseen by plantation companies and the Indonesian consulate in Malaysia.

^{_{Nurlatifa (first from left) with her University classmates}}

_{^{Emilisa Ponda at her graduation ceremony}}

^{_{Nurlatifa's paintings}}

_{^{Emilisa's parents, Maria Sesa and Thomas Boli}}

Education Pathways in Indonesia

In Indonesia, children growing up in our plantations have access to schools and learning facilities that support both academic development and personal growth, from classrooms and laboratories to sports fields, libraries and prayer rooms.

Pinlodi Hartono, 46, has worked as a chainsaw operator at PT Mustika Sembuluh in Central Kalimantan since 2007. He recalls with pride how his son, Dikris Jesenli, thrived in both academics and extra-curricular activities — from scouting and silat (a traditional martial art form in Southeast Asia) to paskibra (a national flag raising troop).

Dikris’s leadership and scouting achievements earned him his selection as an ambassador to represent the Central Kalimantan Province at a national camp in 2022 in Bengkulu and participation in the 12th National Scouts Jamboree in Jakarta the following year. In 2024, he was awarded a scholarship by Wilmar to pursue a bachelor’s degree in agrotechnology at the STIPER Institute of Agriculture in Yogyakarta.

Another Wilmar scholar, Nadira Ochell Andrea, graduated with distinction from Telkom University in 2024. Growing up in PT Gersindo Minang Plantation in Sumatra, Indonesia, did not deter Nadira from chasing her academic ambitions. She studied business management in telecommunication and informatics in the economics faculty at Telkom University. Upon graduation, Nadira joined Wilmar as a purchasing administrator in Padang.

Her parents, both long-serving employees with nearly three decades of service, regard her journey as affirmation that growing up on a plantation need not limit ambition.

^{_{Dikris Jesenli at the STIPER institute of Agriculture}}

_{^{Nadira Ochell Andrea}}

Education as a Right, Not a Privilege

These stories reflect more than individual achievements. They underscore Wilmar’s approach to child protection and education — one that goes beyond preventing child labour to actively upholding children’s rights, including the right to education, across its operations and supply chain.

From East Malaysia to West Indonesia, access to quality education within plantation communities is enabling children to pursue their aspirations, contribute meaningfully to society and break cycles of intergenerational disadvantage.

Their journeys serve as a reminder that education is not only about classrooms. It is about dignity, opportunity and the belief that every child — regardless of background — deserves the chance to learn, grow and dream.

Read more about Wilmar's holistic approach to education in our oil palm plantations in Asia and Africa here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/investing-brighter-future-wilmar-international-tr6tc/

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